One of my clients (let’s call him Rob) is a C-level executive at a Big Four accounting firm. We started working together because he was completely overwhelmed with his workload. The first question I asked him was, “Do you have an executive assistant?”
His answer was, “Yes, but . . .”
“OK,” I replied. “Yes, but what?”
“She doesn’t do what I ask her to do the way I want it to be done,” he said. “She interrupts me with questions when she should know what to do. I find it’s easier to do it myself.”
I hear the same thing from my clients all the time.
The problem doesn’t only lie with the direct report; often, it originates with the delegator. One reason is that there is an art to successful delegation that most of us are not taught. To delegate means to relinquish control, which for some of us (including me), is not a preference.
To move away from the doing of everything yourself and shift into creating more “strategic think space” is necessary, and it’s a skill that evolves.
When we’re overrun by details and tasks that we should hand over to others, our stress increases, our productivity decreases and our work-life balance unravels.
How to decide what to delegate:
- Get clarity about all the tasks you should delegate. Travel planning, editing, expense reports, PowerPoint presentations…etc?
- Know what to do. A great place to start, or refresh your thinking, is to delegate routine tasks. If you understand these tasks and know the outcome you want, then it will be easy to communicate your objectives.
- Delegate work that requires skills you don’t have. Learning new skills might be beneficial, but trying to learn everything takes time. If your employees have the right skills to do the work, hand it over to them.
- Delegate tasks that don’t have immediate deadlines.
- Delegate responsibilities to talented employees. If you have an employee that has a degree in a certain area, or expertise from past work experience, then give that person an opportunity to show you what they can do.
- Delegate to help employees develop skills. If you have an employee who wants to grow, then give them tasks that will help them develop professionally.
Preparation, Communication and Planning:
Once you have clarity about what to delegate, then it’s up to you to communicate effectively. This is where I see the breakdown happening. Delegating requires preparation. It takes more than just dropping documents on someone’s desk or sending a brief email.
Best Practices:
First, explain the whole picture so that the importance of the tasks and how they fit into the overall project is clear.
Second, explain in detail what you want done and what the final product should look like. In other words, make sure that what is expected of them is clear. Here’s the catch: rarely will someone work exactly like you, so appreciate each person’s unique approach.
Third, give constructive feedback. Feedback is essential to training. You will do yourself and your direct reports a disservice if you don’t give feedback and direction at the end of every task or project. Communicating feedback is not about negative criticism. Identify what worked well, not just the areas that can be corrected or changed the next time around. Remember that people make mistakes. Give them a chance. Provide encouraging feedback as to how they can improve. Don’t demean them.
Fourth, establish clear deadlines for each project. I frequently hear executive assistants say they get called to the carpet for not getting something done on time.
Fifth, establish a schedule for short progress updates. Weekly progress reports are useful and will give you the confidence that the work is getting done. This will also give employees an opportunity to ask questions. Use a worksheet or project management software to track progress.
Sixth, find the right balance for the autonomy you give your direct reports. If you assign a task that requires an employee to spend money, make sure to establish a budget so that they don’t have to keep running to you for approval.
Finally, don’t be the bottleneck. It is easy to get busy and, as a result, fail to respond to the questions that may be coming your way. Delays in responses can cause ripple effects in the schedules of others on your team.
Delegating will increase your personal capacity, your organization’s effectiveness and your employees’ professional development. Most importantly, smart delegating will enable you to focus on other areas of your practice or business.
